[skhann2]

I have gone to so many people for help but no one is able to give me a honest, professional, educated answer. I need to set up two speakers in my basement and I would like to play cd's through them as well as be able to use a microphone and talk with the output coming from those same speakers. I went to a guitar store and he told me I would need the following items: amplifier, speakers, subwoofer, mixer, and a cd player. What I have so far is this:


speakers: polk atrium 45 outdoor speakers


amplifier: Crown-XLS-202D-Power-Amplifier


mixer: Behringer-Xenyx-502-Mixer


cd player: sony 5 disc cd changer


Now for the subwoofer, the guy told me it has to have two things: a built-in crossover for the speakers and it has to be active and not passive. The one he showed me was:

KRK-RP-10S-Rokit-Powered-Subwoofer


Now my question is that where can I find a cheaper subwoofer that has those same capabilities because I am looking to spend no more than $600 on this entire system and the most expensive component is the subwoofer. I found this yamaha subwoofer: yamaha YST-SW216BL



but he told me that the crossover it has it for the subwoofer itself, and not for the speakers. Does it really matter though as what I need is nothing huge just simple cd output as well as microphone output through two speakers. Thanks!!

 

[Mr. Audio]

What in the world are you trying to do? Do you wanna sing Karaoke or DJ in your basement or something? You probably can't get an "educated" or "professional" answer because the setup you're describing sounds totally wacko for home use.

 

[skhann2]

i am trying to do karaoke basically..I just want to know if the subwoofer I got will be fine to use as it does not have the certain 'crossover' that allows it to communicate to the speakers.

 

[Mr. Audio]

It's hard to say if that sub will be what you're looking for since believing only comes by hearing. With such small speakers you will have a problem with getting max volume out of the entire system if not crossed over. Either find a good subwoofer with a high pass at 18db per octave or buy a active crossover separate. It really is that simple. If you chose not to high pass the mains then you will run into bass cancellation and playing music at a lower volume than you may want to to keep from over driving the mains.


If it were my setup, I'd ditch the subwoofer and the small speakers and get a decent sounding pair of floorstanders. You can get a wide variety of solid floorstanders for 300 to 400 bucks or cheaper. It will sound better and louder, be easier to setup, and you want be wasting the power of that Crown amplifier. Or you may wanna consider getting a stereo receiver to power your speakers so you can control the master volume with a remote control.


OOORRRRRR......you can pick up a surround receiver like the Yamaha RX-659 that has both the low and high pass filters built in if you must have a sub for around 250 bucks or cheaper. I can speak personally for this receiver because I own it and it is one ballzy amplifier. Simply plug the microphone and CD player into the mixer, then plug the mixer into any of the receiver's inputs and BOOM! you gotta karaoke system. This way you can have the small speakers, and don't have to worry about the sub having the crossovers you need. Not to mention your setup will be a lot simpler and sound better because all the crossing over will be done digitally and cleaner with more options for setup like being able to crossover the system at different points for whatever sounds the best from 40Hz to 200Hz. Plus with a receiver you'll be able to plug in something else for when everybody goes horse from singing all night like a PS2 or XBOX 360 to play Guitar Hero or something.


Pro amplifiers are good for what they're built for. Power. Other than that, if you want something other than that, you must buy everything else al a carte. You must have the mixer for the karaoke part, but I think that's the only piece of pro equipment you should buy. Those guys at Guitar Center will sell you only what they know and have. Buy the mixer. Buy a surround (not stereo) receiver like the one mentioned above. Buy the speakers you like small or floorstanders. Buy any sub you like if you chose small speakers. Hook it up and have fun. If you have anymore questions post them or IM me.

 

[skhann2]

ok thanks a lot for your help and information. I already ordered the components I mentioned so I will set that up and see if I am satisfied with that output. You are really knowledgeable..I should have posted much earlier than I did